Props

Light Bulb

I hollowed out a light bulb and added a battery powered LED light to create the light bulb prop featured in my video. I used the web page I found when googling the process to safely remove the inside of the light bulb making it usable for my video without electric light source. 

Flower Crown

Sparklers

Make Up Testing

I created a look for Jess that I had researched and would suit my music genre and video. The make up she wore included dark eyes with winged eye-liner and bright lipstick that stands out. The look worked well in filming, helping her facial features stand out.

Make Up Inspiration

These are some photographs I found on Pinterest, researching for inspiration make up looks and ideas. I really like this look because the heavy winged eye-liner is definitely the main feature of the look, creating a dynamic style which I want to create on my actor. As my costume ideas are more casual and don't stand out much, the make up can define my actors whole look, creating a desired effect on camera and in photographs. 

Mood Board of Make Up Looks

I researched make up looks that I could use in my video. Most of the looks I found and researched consisted of smoky eyes with winged eye-liner and bright coloured or nude lipsticks. I think each style would work just as effectively, to create the dynamic and bold style for my actress. I also think these looks fit in with the indie rock genre as other videos in the genre use similar make up styles. 

Costume Choices

Costume 1

• Jess wears blue top and black leggings with leather jacket and white converse. In some shots she also has a flower crown. This costume is used for the woods and dark room locations.

Costume 2

• Jess wears a black top with red shorts, denim jacket and black boots. This costume is used for the beach and park locations.

Costumes - Initial Ideas

Here are some initial ideas that I have drawn of costume designs and what could be used in the music video. 

Mood Board of Costumes

I have made a mood board on the style of costumes for my music video, researching other indie rock videos and picking out ideas that inspire my own outfits. I think this shows a variety  of costumes from the indie genre; from the relaxed natural styles of indie, connoting the calm and relaxed songs to the more edgy and rock looks that are often portrayed through the upbeat and heavy songs. From this mood board I was able to create my own initial ideas for costumes and show a style I want for my music video. 

Costume Ideas From Existing Music Videos

I looked at artists and bands in the same genre as my own; researching their costumes and costumes changes to inspire ideas for my own music video. 

Props

These are the main props needed for my video because the filming will take place out on location for the majority of the video,

 

I will also need sparklers for the end scene in my music video. These represent the light at the beginning of the video, but as not trapping the main character. 

Prop Inspiration

 

  

I took inspiration from the band Paramore and their video Ignorance, where the lead signer uses a light bulb as a prop to reflect the music video. The single bulb attached to the ceiling of the room they're in is a similar idea to what I wanted to include in my video for the opening. The light bulb would be shown as 'trapping' my character in the dark room, quite the opposite of what the light bulb signifies in the example music video.

 

The video for Justin Bieber's All That Matters, also shows single light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Although there is more than one, it still shows an effect I would try to re-create. I think the light bulbs work as a background as well as a prop in the video. 

Both videos inspired my idea to use a light bulb in my video, linking to the lyrics of my chosen song, it will be a significant feature and show the development of my music video. 

 

These image inspired my idea to use sparklers to link the light at the beginning and the end of my music video together. It also fits in with the main mise-en-scene that I have chosen and creates a variation in the scene to keep the audience interested.  As the song I have chosen connotes acts of 'breaking free' (see lyric analysis) I have used this to my advantage, using a light bulb as the main reason my main character is trapped in the dark. Once that is broken, I thought about linking the beginning with the end of the video to show development and character progression through the narrative by using the sparklers as a 'free' and 'open' light source rather than a close one like the bulb. To reinforce this idea, I have planned for my character to write the word 'free' using the sparkler, contrasting the start and the end of the video and openly showing the audience the intention of the main character. 

Location Ideas

I have chosen and researched my locations for filming, choosing areas that fit my music video genre and narrative. They're areas I have been to before so I know the surroundings and what I can use as a setting when filming. They are also locations that are near me and are easy to travel to and from, making the moving of equipment and actors easier.  

This is a photograph of Hessle Foreshore, showing the wooded area; a setting that features heavily in my video. The area has many tracks that lead through the woods, making filming easier. The location is also covered by woods, creating the setting showing just woods without any other interruptions from traffic and houses. 

This photograph shows Bridlington beach, another setting that appears in my music video. I chose this location because it creates a contrast in my music video from a enclosed space in the woods to an open and free setting on the beach. The area is vast, meaning there is lots of room for filming without getting in the way of others. The beach has easy access down to it, so carrying the camera and tripod won't be difficult. 

My college green room is also a location that features in my video. It looks similar to this photograph I researched and does the same job. I think it will be an effective space when being in college a lot. It will also create full darkness with the lights off, showing the effect I need for the introduction of my video. 

Casting

Jess Blakey

Female, 17

Wyke College student

I have chosen Jess as my main character of my video because she is a close friend of mine who I work well with. Jess is also reliable and once we've worked out a filming schedule that works well for both of us, we can have successful filming days. She also does dance in college and outside of college, meaning she will be relaxed and hopefully enjoy filming for my video. It will also make filming easier, even though there isn't any major dance scenes within it, my character moves around gracefully a lot, so Jess will be a good choice, feeling comfortable and at ease in front of the camera.  

Audience Profile

I created my own audience profile from the blog poll results and expected target audience, taking into consideration the different music genres and popular music videos right now. This audience profile benefited my research and planning because I was able to specifically target an audience, to gain a better understanding of audience marketing as well as make my music video and products directly link to a group of people. 

Blog Poll Results

I have put the blog poll results into pie charts, highlighting the most popular choices. This also shows and constructs a key target audience, which I can address my music video to, along with targeting the music genre and chosen band audience.

These results show the type of people that would be the key audience for my video. It shows that majority of people insterested are female and between the ages if 16 and 20. The results also show that everyone who answered listens to music regulrary and watches music videos, another key factor when creating the ideal target audience. The results also highlight the most popular song from my chosen band being a single released with a video, that was high in the charts for a while, suggesting the way they heard of the song would have been through the radio and TV music channels, showing both song and video. This demonstrates the importance of a music video, as more audiences and viewers will hear/see the video and then like the song. 

Focus Group Video

I asked 3 other students from my class my focus group questions, gathering a range of opinions to help with my audience research. The responses were quite similar, suggesting that these responses would be similar for the age range of 16 - 18 year olds. 

Audience Research - Focus Group Questions

 

 

These questions were asked to a group of my peers, who gave their opinions of music videos, the conventional attitudes behind music videos and what makes them important. I think these questions can show a range of different attitudes from different people, creating an idea of how and why my own music video can be portrayed to an audience with a desired effect taken from this research. 

Blog Poll

I created a blog poll for visitors of my blog to complete the questions, which I would then use the answers for audience research purposes. The poll is at the side of the blog, with a variation of 8 questions.  

To get people to answer my blog poll I sent out an email to all the A2 Media classes with a link to my blog, asking them to answer the questions. This was a good idea to gather key audience research because fellow students would be my target audience for my video as well as seeing the variation of different opinions.

Audience Research - Questionnaire

How often do you listen to music?

• everyday
• once a week
• once a month
• other

Do you watch the music videos?

• yes
• no

If yes, how often?

• everyday
• once a week
• once a month
• other

What music genre do you listen to the most?

• Pop
• Indie rock/Alternative
• Rock
• Heavy Metal
• other

Have you heard of Imagine Dragons?

• yes
• no

If yes, what's your favourite song?

• It's Time
• Radioactive
• Demons
• On Top Of The World
• other

What age group are you?

• 16-20
• 21-29
• 30+

What gender are you?

• Female
• Male

Inital Ideas

3 initial first ideas of possible music video narratives, showing the synopsis in detail of the direction of which the music video could go in.

Storyboard - Key Words

This is a short storyboard where certain key words had been picked out from my chosen song and an image from the Internet was used to represent the ideology behind the lyric and the possibility of what it could mean. The general connotations from the storyboard display ideas and help develop further concepts to use within the final music video.